Mass Effect Drabbles
by zillazilla
Summary: Mass Effect drabbles to practice my writing skills. Meant to be centered around the same FemShep, but at different points in her timeline. Cannon. Not in chronological order. Rated M for chapter 3. When I say drabbles, I mean drabbles. Goal is to keep it under 1k words per piece and at least 100 words minimum.
1. Leap

Amelia looked out over the small terrace, cradling a ceramic mug of steaming tea, as she leaned against the railing before taking a tentative sip. The fragrant liquid scalded her mouth and tongue as she forced a swallow with a wince. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked over the lake that spread across the horizon between the various parks and store fronts. The year was 2172 CE; today was her last day as a civilian, before being shipped off for Alliance training.

She was alone in her mothers apartment, not having any friends on the Citadel and with Hannah being busy with Alliance business up in the Presidium. Amelia didn't mind, preferring to be alone in the peaceful atmosphere. She sighed again and shivered anxiously as her imagination ran wild with the anticipation of training and her future career. The uncertainty of it all made her tummy quiver. Was she to be stationed on a frigate exploring the traverse, a modern day conquistador? Or was she doomed to stand at attention all day, waiting on some mildly important diplomat finish a meeting somewhere on Earth? She took a larger sip of tea after letting cool for a minute, the bitter taste of artificial sweetener following the tang of lemongrass.

High up above, her light green eyes silently observing the pedestrians below by the lake, savoring the last few hours of freedom she had. She closed her eyes and listened to the song of the alien birds that populated this part of the Citadel, their voices familiar yet beautifully peculiar. A faint air current pulled at her sandy hair, carrying the scent of the strange flowers below and reminded her of the brief visits to Earth she rarely got to enjoy being a spacer. She felt the slightly warm artificial light, and tried to imagine the last time she was on Earth.

* * *

"Shepard." A hoarse voice gasped in the darkness, cutting through the dissipating ringing. "Shepard, you need to get up. Shepard!" Panic laced the male voice, and Shepard opened her eyes at his shaking. She was met with the strong taste of copper on her tongue, the smell of burnt plastic and hair in her nose, and the bloodied face of her squad mate over her. "Oh, thank God," He sighed before helping her up.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up and bringing the room into focus and piecing together the memories from moments before. A colony compartment came back into focus, a dead Batarian several meters away. She stood up, wincing at the sharp stab on her rib cage before applying pressure to her wound. She spat out a glob of blood and did a mental check list of her body, ensuring everything was there and in working order. She straightened and pulled her hand from her side, palm coming away crimson.

Her squad mate spat towards the Batarian as the rest of her squad did final sweeps of the living quarters rooms. "This bastard here managed to throw out a small radius grenade before we managed to take him out. Nearly blew you back to Earth. Good thing we were issued shields, eh?"

"Yeah, good thing" She chuckled nervously before picking up her Avenger. Her shield modulator sizzled angrily as it attempted to recharge, and she quickly applied medigel to her wound before it became anything serious. Relief swept through her as her skin tingled.

"Regroup. We need to find the last of the colonists." She ordered, straightening herself up to her full commanding height. What was left of her squad resumed their formation, guns at the ready.


	2. Nudge

Damp hair framed Amelias face as she removed her mug of water from the galley microwave, her finger mashing the _finished!_ button to end the obnoxious timer chime. She dropped in a dehydrated cube, tore open a sugar syrup packet mislabeled as honey with her teeth, and squeezed the viscus substance into her mug. A gentile tinking filled the room as she stirred her tea with a general issue, slightly dented and scratched metal spoon.

"Rough night?" a voice purred behind her. Garrus sauntered towards her with an air of bravado despite his damaged armor and bandaged face.

"Mm," she hummed with closed eyes, trying her best to enjoy the taste of artificial lemongrass. Her headache eased a bit, but her muscles still burned with overuse from hours earlier when she leaned against the counter.

"Now, tea I understand. But why add sugar to something meant to be tart?" He asked, moving to lean next to her. "Seems like it defeats the purpose. If I could drink the stuff."

She took another sip, taking an appreciative glance at the Turian: mandibles slack in a smirk, arms crossed. A fleet feeling of affection pulsed through her at his attempt at distracting small talk.

"Look," he sighed when she did not reply right away, "I know a thing or two about sleepless nights. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be your ear."

She smiled over the rim of her tartly sweet drink as a elbow gently nudged her side.


	3. Stars

The cabin was dim, the only source of light was the bubbling fish tank. A moan escaped her lips as Garrus licked at her, naked body bowing with pleasure. Her eyes opened with heavy lids to the open void of stars above her bed, and her chest tightened. Lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, and the warm sweat from pleasure quickly turned cold. She can't breathe, the hissing of escaping oxygen from her damaged suit filling the silence. Her fingers released the gripped sheets to grab at the back of her neck. Her body spinning, spinning towards the stark planet below, line of sight dimming, legs kicking uselessly against the lack of gravity, the end, everything gone -

"Shepard?" A worried voice cut through it all and grounded her back to reality. She gasped when she realized she was holding her breath. Garrus gazed up at her, chin wet and mandibles tight with worry. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," she muttered weakly, wiping sweat off her brow with her forearm. Then, "I'm sorry."

Standing up while cleaning off his chin, Garrus peered at her and she can tell he is thinking. Then, he climbed into bed next to her, lust completely forgotten. He wiggled his arm beneath her head, allowing her to snuggle into his side, uncomfortable plates ignored. She danced her fingers absentmindedly across his skin.

"Are we doing enough?" She asked, letting her exhaustion seep into her voice. "Garrus, is it enough? The Crucible? The treaties and armistices? What do we do if it's not?" Her voice was on the verge of breaking.

His arm pulled her tighter, chest vibrating as he hummed in thought. "I think," he started slowly, "That no matter what, it will be. It must be." His mandible brushed her hair gently as he spoke. "But do you know what the best part about a battle that decides the whole fate of the galaxy?"

"Beating it?," she replied, the corners of her mouth slightly turning up.

"It's a good excuse the remind the ones you care about that, well, you are about them."

Love pushed all other thoughts out of her head. Here he was, comforting her yet never asking for it back despite all he has been through. She looked up at him, rolled on top, and pressed her forehead to his.

"I don't know what I would do without you," she whispered, her long hair curtaining their kiss.


	4. Tableau

With glazing eyes, Shepard gazed at the space battle that ensued outside of the Citadel window. Another Alliance cruiser exploded in silence, light momentarily blinding her. The quiet in the room was suffocating as she tried to stay conscious.

 _What a view._

"Anderson," she whispered weakly, ribs screaming out in pain with each breath. With all the might in the world, she lolled her head to look at him. His face was the most peaceful she had ever seen it and the realization settled in her stomach. She shuddered a mournful breath.

Fighting the darkness that was edging more and more into her vision, she looked down at herself – burnt armor, cracked plates, skin broken and singed. An insurmountable amount of pain now dulling from dying nerves. She had never stopped bleeding, she realised as she looked at her slick hand.

A laugh of delirium almost escaped her lips. She had forgotten her favorite mug up in her cabin at her computer. A final cup of tea poured and forgotten. She wondered where the Normandy was in this tableau that stretched in front of her, Earth the canvas.

 _The first time I've sat down in a lifetime._

Then, tears bubbled up from it all. She had failed them all. Watched her team almost get killed by Harbinger's beam, carrying Garrus to the Normandy, listening to whispered words of love he made as she left him for the last time. The Illusive Man surprising her on the Citadel after wading through the bodies being picked at by Keepers. Eyes wide with fear as he made her shoot Anderson, and eyes narrowed with hate as she shot him between the eyes after shaking off his influence. All this way to just bleed out on the floor, frustrated at it all.

"Shepard? Commander!" Hacket radioed to her. She fought to bring everything back into focus.

"I-what do you need me to do?" She groaned, fighting against her dying body to try and stand.

"Nothing is happening. The Crucible is not firing."

Standing up on one knee, she pushed to right herself only to fall back down pitifully on herself. She gasped out in pain and frustration.

"It must be something on your end."

She crawled her way to the panel, vision fading as black walls moved in, a feeling familiar of Alchera.

"Commander Shepard!"

"I-I don't see." Her voice hoarsed, fading. "I'm not sure-how to-" She desperately grasped toward the panel, lurching to try and make it the last of the way. It was too much. She fell a final time.

Nothing but darkness.

A peaceful death after all.

 _I'm proud of you._


	5. Spacer Immunity

A sniffle from behind a helmet earned a curious glance from Ashley as they worked to free the Asari scientist from the strange Prothean trap.

"Getting sick, Skipper?" She inquired with a smirk.

"Didn't know you would get sick after visiting the Citadel once. Must be a Spacer thing. Weakened immune system." Kaiden chimed in.

"Lock it up you two," Shepard ordered, finally figuring out how to free Dr. T'Soni. More to herself than her team, "I am not getting sick."

"See, that is _exactly_ what someone who is getting sick would say."

"Alenko, I swear-" Shepard started before she coughed wetly for a second.

"I hate to interrupt," piqued Liara, with all intention of interrupting, "But perhaps we should get out of here."

Shepard sniffled again. "Know anyway to get out of here?"

Soft blue eyes glanced between the three of them nervously. "There is an elevator behind you. At least, I think it is an elevator. It should take us out of here." She activated the control panel. "And perhaps you should get that cold looked at when you get the chance."

The earth shook suddenly.

"Uh, what the hell was that?" Ashley asked, leering almost accusingly at Liara.

"We have to hurry, the whole place is caving in. The mining laser must have triggered some sort of seismic event." Liara explained as she frantically tried to get the elevator moving. Shepard did not waste any time.

"Joker, get the Normandy air-born and lock onto my signal. We need immediate evac."

The elevator lurched to life as Joker com'ed back. "Aye aye commander, ETA eight minutes."

The ride was surprisingly short to the surface, but the group was greeted by a squad of Geth with a Krogan leading point.

Shepard puffed her chest. "Any reason you're in my way?" she asked as threatening as her growingly nasal voice could manage. Another single, wet cough punctuated her sentence as she maintained eye contact.

The Krogan merely sneered down at her. "Are you sick, human?"

"Oh, I do not have time for this," She huffed as she prepped her biotics for a shockwave, not caring too much about the conversation anyway.


End file.
